Papez

Yes, it's basically pre-war engine and chassis with different body. But that body is so beautiful

Unfortunately, MPI and SPI have different flywheels - MPI has extra teeth to mark 1st cylinder TDC. SPI doesn't need that... In theory, SPI signal could be similar to MPI, you'd just need something to route it to the right coil

I think it depends on manufacturer. For example, INA accessory belt tensioner for TDI is identical part with Gates bearing, only difference is VW part numbers grinded away. But if Sachs is not able to keep quality of 80's Slovak factory (Sachs Slovakia, which supplied clutch sets for Felicia, was formerly TAZ - clutch supplier for Favorit), it really went downhill.

It only sets order of firing, all timing is set by the ECU, using position sensor on crankshaft, which is more precise. Distributor had timing function on older carburettor engines, but because of missing timing chain tensioner, it was all over the place once the chain became loose Either that or some custom solution which would generate the right signal from SPI ECU signal and some additional sensor. MPI is definitely better, its knock sensor allows for more precise ignition and higher CR - 40kW variant rated for 91octane fuel has similar CR as 50kW SPI rated for 95 octane fuel. However, factory variant also have different cam profile to improve low end torque, which is why maximum power remained the same as SPI, but dynamics, emissions and fuel consumption improved. Lot of things could be wrong - there could be a vacuum leak, blocked injector or bad map. Have you checked valve clearance?

Distributor in SPI doesn't do anything with timing - that's already done by the ECU. The distributor is really just a distributor. MPI module contains two coils - one fires with 1st and 4th cylinder near TDC, other with 2nd and 3rd. Which means that it needs two different signals per engine rotation - SPI ECU doesn't send such signals and its crankshaft sensor only detects 1st cylinder TDC. 1.2 bar is right pressure for the system. Choking outlet is not right thing to do - pressure regulator doesn't set absolute pressure, it sets relative pressure against intake air pressure, which is vital for proper fuel regulation. If you want increase amount of fuel, you need to remap the ECU. "I know a better option would be fitting the entire MPI and head, but for what I read here, starting from a low compression 54cv engine would not give significant benefits" You can increase CR by skimming the head. But that's main hurdle in converting to MPI - MPI has knock sensor mounted in the block, but SPI doesn't have mounting point for the sensor.

Sachs is original supplier of the clutch set.

The fan won't run if thermostat is closed - the switch is at output side of the radiator, which is at ambient temperature when the thermostat is closed. But with 70° switch, it might run even at higher speeds in high-load situations. I wouldn't go beyond 5° difference.

More resistance, they had same rates as Pickup.

@R_Blue in Felicia, wiper switch can be pushed forward in two positions, first is rear wiper, second is wiper+washer. I'm not sure if it's same in the Favorit, as wiring is a bit different there.

I'd check diode bridge, it's pretty common that one or more diodes blow and alternator cannot reach full power.

No, I removed it from one Felicia Mystery, where it malfunctioned. It was supposed to run rear wiper in 5 second interval, activated by pushing wiper lever to rear washer for a short period. In said Felicia, it activated everytime rear screen was washed and couldn't be turned off. It was optional extra included in some editions

They did, the "INT" position in fusebox is for rear intermittent relay.

That's because Felicia already has programmable timer. But it measures time of lever being in off position, not time since last wipe, so it can be a bit tricky to reset.

That engine was meant for whole Favorit (or its successor) line, there is even marketing material for Favorit LS 1600. On the opposite end, there was 115S with 1.1l engine.

@R_Blue - the sedan was considered for production from the start, as Favorit was supposed to replace all Škoda models that were in production. Bertone was tasked with design of hatchback, sedan, estate and coupé, Škoda later derived pickup and extended panel Van. However, developing new car from scratch was too demanding and there weren't money left for another variants - Forman went to production only because it was needed for police forces and because it shared most parts with the hatchback. There's also 1991 prototype called Felicia, supposedly to come into production with planned modernization, but that was at time when VW bought Škoda and decided to keep current production and then develop new models instead.

Funny thing, this was planned to be one of the first upgrades for 1968 model 1000MB, there were even engines in production with modified chain cover - but it was withdrawn later. It is possible that it was because of politics again - polymer used for chain slider was made in West Germany and relations with western countries were a bit more relaxed before August 1968. This looks like relic from 1000MB, where oil filter wasn't full flow, this was addressed by modifications in Estelle to increase oil change interval.

I'm interested what'd he say about it. Yes, but it didn't work like that. Socialistic economy was planned for 5 years and when there was plan to industrialize Slovakia, there was no money left to invest into passenger cars (Skoda 720 - you have "new" 10 years old factory and tools to build 1000MB, what else do you want?) - other plans to develop new car (740) with Trabant and Wartburg failed after years of development.. So all those great engineers did what they could to keep 1000MB platform living until late 80's (atleast they managed some improvements instead of making the same car for decades). Favorit project was only greenlit when government realised, that current cars would be too obsolete to be sold in western markets, which would mean losing one of few sources of foreign currency.

It just was like that in whole communism ridden Czechoslovakia. Chief engineer of the project had to beg to get funds for engine modification. Headlamp supplier was already making reflectors for Samara, so Favorit had to have them too. And so on. Reading story of Favorit development, I was wondering how they were even able to make it. Yes, it was case of highly modified engines (I don't know what pushrods they use to rev that high). The 130LR that competed in this years Dakar had power reduced to around 130HP to improve reliability - I believe it was because of crankshaft (and they already used 1.4)

The car was already developed before I was born I just read some books on the topic and found some info from good folks on the internet, who got their hands on prototypes and shared it iirc, it had just 1mm narrower bearings, it was quite close to production parts, but it needed more work to run properly. So they kept what was working. 3 bearings become issue in higher RPM beyond stock redline (7-8k), where oscillations can break even strengthened Fabia crankshaft.

They tried 5 bearing prototypes with increased displacement - they had issues with lubrication, so they kept 3 bearings.

These engines were designed for minimal changes of parameters in first 250k km - massive improvement of reliability was main reason behind development of 135/136 engine.

I thought the same. It seems that SP-EL has issues with QA lately..

Maybe slightly. Vanplus had same front springs as estate, so effect should be minimal.

No, the seats are different, hatchback/estate has coilovers, pickup has standalone spring seats with different spring profile. There is "heavy duty" rear spring for estate, originally for Vanplus, it should be around 2cm higher than estate spring.

I missed a word, I meant My Felicia (136M).